Religious state schools accused of fuelling social segregation

Covert selection by religious state schools has fuelled social segregation in education, some of the most respected academic authorities on schools admissions have told MPs. Class and ethnic divides between faith schools and other state schools have grown since 1990 and are worst in areas where faith schools apply "potentially selective" admissions criteria, research shows.

The evidence backs up fears expressed in the wake of the government's own research this week which showed widespread flouting of a new code designed to crackdown on selection and social segregation. The study of three randomly selected areas found that at its worst, schools in Barnet, north London, were found to be charging parents on application, in one case a £50 "admissions fee". The children's secretary, Ed Balls, claimed that in other cases money demanded ran into hundreds of pounds.

Research by Rebecca Allen, from the Institute of Education, submitted to the Commons education committee yesterday suggests that schools which used six or more "potentially selective" criteria admitted over 50% more pupils in the top quarter of the ability distribution in Key Stage 2 tests than they would if they recruited a locally representative intake. They also admitted half the number of pupils on free school meals than a locally recruited representative intake.

The criteria the researchers are concerned about include vetting siblings' academic achievement, assessing family connections, religious criteria and interviewing pupils. The new code was meant to tackle many of these areas but the government's research this week suggested it is failing to prevent covert forms of selection.

Anne West of the London School of Economics told MPs that the abuse of the admissions system was more widespread than just in the three areas highlighted by the government. She is examining admissions processes in every area of the country.

"Where schools are responsible for their own admissions ... some are likely to use whatever means they can to select their own intake," West said.

She said that there was some evidence that "things are better than they were" after the introduction of the new code but some schools were circumventing the rules by "renaming" interviews as "admissions meetings".

Church leaders addressing the same committee challenged the findings and hit back at claims by MPs that faith schools "are adept" at keeping out children from low income families and those with special educational needs.